There were two types of people in the world: those who cared more about results and those who cared more about the process you used to achieve them.
I was one of the first. The process didn't matter, as long as the results were good, I was happy. In that sense, the situation we found ourselves in was not so bad.
The only thing that matters here is getting the count to drop the charges.
If our public purposely interfered in our raid and we could prove that they were working under Count Alminus, we would win. Our raid had been formally sanctioned by the guild, after all. Did he really want the news to spread that he was deliberately obstructing an official raid? Forget about getting him to drop all the charges against me, he might even get money from him.
A good thing, too, since the chances of us succeeding are low.
This was the main reason why he mainly counted on the big shot to take the bait instead of successfully subduing the Soil Lord. My strategy almost guaranteed that we would emerge from the battle alive, but there was a good chance that we would not be able to deliver the final blow due to our relative lack of firepower.
If Erwen hadn't gotten Riakis' essence last month, we wouldn't have even touched this boss.
Taking everything into account, I would say that our probability of success was 20%. Even though it was low, we had a big shot on the line, which meant we now had a much better chance of coming out of here victorious. A Soil Lord could be hunted at any time, but the situation with Count Alminus required a quick resolution.
[Something in the dark is watching you].
I felt a sudden chill. It seemed that the summoning conditions had been met. «Everyone, keep your guard up. From now on, it could appear at any time».
We quickly assumed our positions, ready to fight at the first opportunity. We had to convince our viewers that we were making a real attempt to fight the boss once it appeared, so that they would be forced to keep watching instead of jumping right away.
Since they will know that we are recording our raid, they will wait for a decisive moment to show themselves.
«Versyl, does the recording glass work?»
«Don't worry. I made sure to check it several times».
«Alright, then I'll leave that part to you.».
As I quickly informed them one last time what to do, our environment began to change.
[Something in the dark harbors feelings of hatred towards you.]
Okay, so the chances of it showing up have increased.
«Bjorn... Don't you think it's gotten colder?»
Surprisingly, Ainar was the first to notice a change. Well, they said that animals were the first to notice natural disasters, so it was logical that someone with animal instincts would be the same.
«Everyone, get ready», I warned. «It will appear at any time».
Everyone nervously prepared themselves as we waited with bated breath.
Tremble.
Suddenly, the walls of the cave began to shake, and the faint crystals around us began to glow a deep red.
[Special Condition – The Faith of Five Persons has been fulfilled.]
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, will test the faith of these Pilgrims].
The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, had finally appeared.
The Lord of the Soil could be invoked as long as five or more people were gathered in one place after the third day. And it was easy to tell when it had appeared.
Tremble.
The ground began to shake.
Shaaaaaa!
The dark caverns of the Crystal Cave were dyed red.
[As the terror increases, your Bonding spell has been voided].
The Binding spell that connected party members who met the summoning conditions has been disabled.
[Your field of vision has been limited to a two-yard radius.]
And finally, once your line of sight was limited, it slowly approached you.
«...There.» We heard a noise down a hallway illuminated by the faint red glow.
Step.
Our heads immediately turned towards the sound, even as we held the formation.
Step.
The footsteps approached, slower and slower, as if the creature's feet were getting stuck on the ground.
Step.
Our line of sight was now only two meters in any direction. Finally the moment came when we could see him in the distance.
Versyl quickly covered her mouth to stifle a disgusting gasp. Since she was a magician, she probably wasn't good at things like that. «I've heard a story about that before... but it's really disgusting».
I couldn't agree more. I had felt the same way about the Corpse Golem, but no matter how detailed the illustration was in the game, it always paled in comparison to the real thing. The thing crawling from the darkness in front of us was no exception.
Step.
At just over five feet tall, little Dreadfear - much smaller than Riakis - was a humanoid monster with two arms and two legs.
Step.
He walked on two feet and brandished a sword of bones. However, just because he was humanoid didn't mean he looked like one.
Even zombies are technically humanoid.
In fact, Dreadfear looked a lot like a zombie. His silhouette resembled that of a human, but he could not claim any real resemblance beyond that. Huge worms, each the size of a thumb, writhed all over his body.
Step.
We could hear the disgusting bugs writhing as it got closer.
Squish.
With each step, the worms fell to the ground, where they twisted before being crushed.
«...I see why most adventurers avoid fighting him».
«Ugh...»
Amelia and Erwen didn't feel nauseous like Versyl, but they didn't seem indifferent either. It seemed like they'd rather die than have to face that guy. In the end, the only one who was happy was Ainar.
«Ohhh! Is he? He seems weaker than I expected».
Yes, there should be at least one character like that in every good adventure story.
«Hahaha! What's wrong with everyone?! What about those expressions? It looks like that, sure, but at least it doesn't smell!».
It disgusted me to see Dreadfear, but remembering the horrible stench of the Corpse Golem, this was actually much better. But was it okay to rejoice just because it didn't smell? I had no idea. «Enough nonsense.» It was time to concentrate.
Step.
Once it entered our line of sight, Dreadfear stopped walking. Although he was so short that I had to look down to see him, I could feel the incredible weight of his presence radiating from that tiny body.
«Behel-aaaaaah!»
So I decided to charge at him. After all, the best way to overcome fears was to face them head-on. You would never be able to overcome them if you didn't try.
«Kyaaaaaak!» He screamed at my frontal attack and brandished his long sword, although calling it «long sword» was exaggerated. At this point it was practically a sword-worm.
Clang!
His small body generated incredible strength. I absentmindedly observed that he seemed to be on par with Riakis in terms of physical strength, although I had a more pressing matter to worry about at the time.
Fall. Fall.
The worms that broke away from his sword and body began to slowly crawl towards me and cling to my skin.
Shit. In the game, it was just an aura skill. How the hell is this considered an aura?
[You have been infected with Rodent Terror. Your Spirit status has begun to steadily decline. Dreadfear's Wrath will increase in proportion to the damage you have taken].
The worms stuck to my skin, making it burn and itch. It was not something that any amount of Physical Resistance could prevent.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the rank five Holy Flame solar spell].
Just as I had planned, Versyl quickly threw me an enhancer. It was an essential spell to overcome the first phase. When I sold information on how to deal with the Ground Lord from the first floor in Ghost Hunt, I recommended using this spell. However, that did not mean that there were no alternatives.
Fwoosh!
However, this was still the easiest and most effective method. If you were worried about parasites, you just had to cook them, right?
[The Rodent Terror has been nullified.]
Alright, that was enough to deal with the aura.
Boom!
As I became familiar with Dreadfear's attack pattern, worms the size of a human's head began to emerge from the cave walls. They were the symbolic monsters of phase one. There was no need to worry about them.
Boo!
Our area-of-effect combat specialists, Ainar and Versyl, took care of the mob. That meant there were two members of our team who were still free. However, I ordered the two to wait.
«Emily, have you made any moves?» After all, we weren't just facing the Lord of the Ground right now. We had to keep an eye on our other enemies too.
«... No changes yet. It seems that they continue to observe us from afar».
I let out a sigh. So they planned to passively observe the entire first phase. Well, that made sense: from their point of view, they had no way of knowing whether we would succeed or not. Waiting for the right moment to interfere was in their best interest.
Yes, I can see why they would choose that route.
«Erwen, the time?» First, I checked the current time.
[19:57]
There were about four hours until the first floor closed.
It really would have been better if he showed up a little later.
I decided to move on to the second phase. Most likely, they did not try to interfere at all during Phase One. When fighting Dreadfear, time management was key because in each phase he received a new power-up.
This happens every five minutes during the first and second phases.
It was best to finish the first two phases as soon as possible so that he would not receive the power-ups. Otherwise, they would accumulate until the end of the raid.
«Emily, don't lose sight of them. Erwen, you can start now».
It was time to start taking this seriously. Although Erwen was our only DPS at the moment, we didn't seem to lack firepower. Ever since Erwen gained a Floor Lord essence, she had been on a completely different level.
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned the Elemental Ruler of Darkness, Dicloe].
As soon as I gave him the go-ahead, Erwen attacked just as he had planned.
Boom! Boom! Boooooom!
The first phase of Dreadfear took exactly fifteen seconds to come to an end.
[Resentment within the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, awakens.]
In the brief moment after Erwen finished attacking, I saw an image that quickly etched into my brain.
Drip.
As if he were shedding his skin, the worms that covered his entire body stopped moving and fell to the ground. Even now, it was difficult to see him well, as a black mist began to fill the cavern and cover his worm-infested form.
So the first phase is over...
I quickly took stock of our current situation. The last time Erwen summoned Dicloe with all her mana, it lasted thirty seconds, which meant her MP had been reduced by half. «Erwen, you can rest now. Keep an eye on those guys watching us if you can. Emily, it's your turn». I took Erwen out of the battle so she could get her PM back and had her move in with Amelia.
Drip. Drip.
The worms continued to crush to the ground.
«Kyaaak!»
«Keeheehee! Keeheehee!» Suddenly, worms began to fly out of the black mist, letting out strange screeches and laughter.
«Ew! Ew!» Ainar shouted fearfully. «Bjorn! W-What is this?!»
Only then did I remember it. She wasn't one to be scared of bugs, but she was one of those who were scared of ghosts.
Ooo! Ooo!
Ainar brandished his sword through the air in blind panic, but even when his sword cut through the mist, he was unable to deliver a single blow.
[You have been exposed to the Swallow Terror. Your Spirit status has begun to steadily decline. Your hit rate drops significantly while the probability of attacking nearby allies increases].
The second phase aura was now in effect.
«Erwen, status report.»
«...Nothing yet. They keep watching».
Hm, I'm sure you know Phase One is over, and yet you keep watching... As I thought, we'll have to get through this.
«Kyaaaaaak!»
Come on, bastard. I'm thinking here.
[You have launched Iron Fortress. The effect of the Evolutionary Shell has increased 1.5 times].
Unlike the first phase, I had to increase my Physical Stamina as much as possible.
Clang!
My reasoning was simple. His physical strength hadn't increased as much between the first and second phases, but now, attacks like this weren't the only ones I had to worry about.
[Amelia Rainwales has released Power of the Abyss. Due to the Swallow Terror, Amelia Rainwales' attack has failed].
Defying the laws of physics, Amelia's dagger suddenly flew towards me.
Stab!
To hell with that broken aura, seriously.
«...Are you okay?»
«I'm fine. Don't worry about me».
In Phase Two, the role of the tank was extremely important. Whether long or short range, the aura gave the person closest to Dreadfear the chance to be hit by any attack. That is why it was normal to use several tanks in a raid against him, along with a team of priests who could constantly heal them.
«Behel-aaaaaah!»
But if you don't have teeth, you just have to chew with your gums.
«Yandel, I prefer not to attack when...»
What the hell was he talking about? «I told you I'm fine. Keep attacking».
I ignored Amelia's worries as I clung tenaciously to Fear. Every time the aura effects were activated, Amelia's attack hit me instead. It wasn't a great feeling, but it couldn't be helped. The only important thing was not to let my determination falter. And when I thought about the pain that bastard was suffering from his attacks, I realized that he could withstand some friendly fire.
[Due to the Swallow Terror, Amelia Rainwales' attack has failed.]
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has launched Plague Spread].
Now that I was using one of his abilities, it was time for me to stop clinging to him and put distance between us.
[The feeling of resentment deepens].
This was the buff associated with Phase Two.
[All aura effects are permanently enhanced].
I sighed.
Has it been five minutes already? We should limit the number of improvements this type receives in Phase Two.
[Your special ability has started to decrease.]
I was starting to get impatient. The annoying thing about Dreadfear was that the longer the fight went on, the harder it was to face him.
Still, this guy is a glass cannon.
Amelia and Ainar continued brandishing their swords without worrying that their attacks would accidentally hit me.
[The feeling of resentment deepens. Your Physique has begun to steadily decline.]
[The feeling of resentment deepens. The stat reduction rate increases by 50%.]
[The feeling of resentment increases. Dreadfear's Wrath increases in proportion to your stat decrease].
We were finally able to move on to the next phase only after he received his fourth buff, which was quite disheartening.
...I wish we could have finished at least the third buff.
Because of that, our chances of successfully carrying out this raid had been reduced even further, but I quickly shook off my disappointment. After all, that was not our main goal.
«Kyaaaaaak!»
Shaaaaaa!
Dreadfear let out a cry of pain, and the black mist enveloping the area and the worms flying around it were suddenly absorbed into his body.
[The Hate embedded deep within the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has awakened].
Now came the third phase.
«Lord! They are moving!»
Finally, the fish in our line was making its move.